7 Types of Marketers and Their Common Traits

Targeting an audience of buyers should be a part of every small business strategy. Targeting the perfect marketer to help you market to the target audience is just as important. There are many different types of marketers, and itâ€™s important to know what type of marketer you should target for your strategy, that compliments your business model.

Small business owners, marketing managers, brand managers, or whoever has control of the marketing for a product, often fall into common patterns of thinking when they lay out their marketing vision. These thought patterns are fascinating because they can tell you a lot about what type of marketers you should approach for your project. Being in the marketing industry, Iâ€™ve compiled a list of all the different marketers that Iâ€™ve worked with or have witnessed over the years.

The Frugal Believer

This marketer loves craigslist and any other form of free marketing. They are disgusted with agency prices and will demand disproportionate value from every five bucks they spend. They often run businesses with sloppy brand images and survive very well on their obsessive cost leadership strategy, offering the lowest price for a descent or average product. Word of mouth is their savior.

People may love the products, but they love the price even more. This is a delicate balance, because thereâ€™s a fine line between a brand that says â€ścost leaderâ€ť and one that says â€ścheap.â€ť

The One Hit Wonder

Occasionally youâ€™ll see a product do very well with only one type of marketing. This can make the marketer believe that all the focus should be just on this one technique. This is one of the riskiest ways to market a business because if that form of marketing suddenly becomes less effective the product will go down with it.

Having all of your eggs in one basket is high risk, but there is always the possibility of high rewards â€“ at least for a little while. The one hit wonder can be really, and I mean really, good in one area, but if the marketing trends leave them behind, they wonâ€™t be able to provide much value in the future.

The Sprinter

The sprinter is the marketer that wants the big jump in conversions, traffic, or leads right now. Not tomorrow, now. Unfortunately, the sprinter is also the person that digs for gold and, just three feet away from success, stops digging because theyâ€™re discouraged or not satisfied with their results after digging the first two feet. The sprinter will occasionally tap into marketing channels that will deliver quick results, although it is slightly rare.

The sprinter is common among entrepreneurs and business owners because they struggle with patience, are hungry and results-driven, and they want success fast. Sprinters can be guilty of spammy tactics online, but this type of marketer is good for promotional strategies and can often be found in the PR industry.

The Marathon Marketer

This marketer is perfect for branding a company. They understand that the little wins are what make the brand great in the long run. Marathon marketers may not produce the best results upfront but overtime can be the perfect solution for companies that have a long-term vision. They focus on quality, theyâ€™re not cheap, and it can be difficult for the business owner or manager to see their value in the first few months when the ROI is very slim or non-existent.

Businesses should really consider their long-term strategy before they hire a marketer like this. Marketing agencies are often in this group, but so are individuals who have plenty of experience marketing a brand.

The Well-Rounded Marketer

The well-rounded marketer is usually looking for every single opportunity to market a business. They tap into, and test, everything they can before bailing on a marketing channel. Theyâ€™re risk takers, but they understand the field of marketing far better than anyone who specializes in one area. They can employ that marathon mentality when they see something working, but since they donâ€™t specialize in one specific area it can be difficult for them to know the details and depth of one area of marketing.

For small businesses, this can be the best route to go because they can take advantage of every opportunity available for your business â€“ as long as it is affordable and profitable. The well-rounded marketer is capable of driving great results with a combination of long-term branding and willingness to consider new options.

The Super Creative Marketer

The super creative marketer is usually design- or content-focused. They specialize in viral marketing and can be beneficial to almost any business and brand. The pitfall for the creatives is they can fall out of conversion mode and end up appealing to fluffy traffic that wonâ€™t provide any real value. At the same time, you donâ€™t want them conversion or profit focused because that hinders their creativity. Traditionally these marketers were found at creative boutiques. They can be very valuable for branding.

These traits are also common in social media marketers, article marketers, video marketers, or designers. Theyâ€™re great for branding a business but might struggle when it comes to building ROI. If they arenâ€™t artistic, they can provide super creative ideas for an artist or writer to play with.

These marketers can be rare, but marketing agencies find ways to bring them under their umbrella. It can be hard for creatives to focus, they tend to be all over the place, but remember thatâ€™s what makes them great.

The Analytical Technical Marketer

The analytical marketer can be rather annoying to the creative marketer, but will be the finance department and CEOâ€™s best friend. These marketers look deep into the analytics to find the issues that need fixing, and they can get extremely excited every time they find something new.

These marketers are pragmatic individuals and use their logical and emotional hemispheres of their brain in their work. This personality type is most likely your best manager if youâ€™re going in-house. If they work at an agency, they will probably be in a management position, as well. They use every tool available to them and will always sell their wins even when theyâ€™re losing.

They are comfortable using code and html, even if they canâ€™t build a website, and they are often found in the SEO industry. If they were to run in race, they would choose a fast two to three miles instead of a slow 26-mile run or super-fast 40-yard run.

Conclusion

Every business is different, which means every marketing strategy should be different. Itâ€™s vital that managers and entrepreneurs know what traits will work best for their business and hire the agency or people that will complement their strategy and overall vision for their products.